SWAW2012

AGIR Launching Press Conference

At the press conference, organised directly after the official launching ceremony of AGIR on 6 December in Ouagadougou, high-level representatives presented their viewpoints, impressions and expectations.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response:

"We know that every time a crisis hits 80% of the most affected come from the 20% poorest, most vulnerable people."

Ms. Georgieva underlines that alignment to existing national and regional strategies, better donor co-ordination and long-term commitment are critical to ensure the effectiveness of the Alliance. "We know that every time a crisis hits 80% of the most affected come from the 20% poorest, most vulnerable people. These people with the least access to the corridors of power, it is for them that the Alliance is being formed. [...] We have already identified 500 million EUR over the next three years (2012-2014) to support the objectives of the Alliance and we will make resilience of the most vulnerable people a priority in the next European Development Fund (EDF)."

Kristalina Georgieva:

“We aim to bring humanitarian assistance and development together.”

"Unless we work together to build the capacity of families and communities, the needs for humanitarian aid will only grow…and then resources will go into helping short-term needs on the expense of the investment in development. For this not to happen, we have to bring the short-term action with an eye on long-term response and connect what we do better but also keeping in mind that there are people that are more vulnerable and often are excluded from development. The Alliance aims to connect humanitarian aid and development with the primary objective to benefit exactly these people."

Nancy Lindborg, USAID Assistant Administrator:

“This partnership enables us to do a better job of targeting…”

"From the perspective of USAID, we have appreciated the partnership that enables us to do a better job of targeting: who are the most vulnerable? This is important. Secondly, we put emphasis on increasing these highly nutritious, easily digestible foods that are most appropriate for malnutritioned children under five. This helps ensure that the right people are getting addressed. We have also increased the ways in which we assist vulnerable people: it is not only food. It is helping mothers understand how to ensure that their children have better nutrition, through cash and voucher programmes working in partnership with local governments and partners. We thereby ensure that the most vulnerable can afford food. Finally, as we have been talking about ensuring that even us we move quickly enough to save lives, we work towards linking and integrating our development and humanitarian strategies to prevent crises."

François–Xavier De Donnea, Président du Club du Sahel et de l’Afrique de l’Ouest

Marc Lapodini Atouga, ECOWAS Commissioner in charge of Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources

“If we do not empower people to enable them to face the crises, they will still come across the same problems year after year.”

We will make sure that all actions are conducted within the regional policy framework. AGIR is a good initiative. I am convinced if we do not take care of the structural problems, we will need humanitarian aid for ever and that’s not acceptable. As you all know, if we do not empower people to enable them to face the crises, they will still come across the same problems year after year. We all know that climate change is a reality; we all know that households are no longer what they used to be; in the years to come the population will continue to grow; urbanisation will going to be fast. Producers have to deal with this and we have to make sure that long-term structural responses address these challenges in a sustainable manner. Let’s put our efforts together; let’s all move into the same sense…if we all go in different directions we will not succeed. I would like to say thank you for being our partners. […] We will make sure on our side that our resources and all the support you bring to the region will be used in an efficient and responsible manner. This is very important, good governance is a key for the region and the success of the initiative.